Burum a supporter of affordable housing, charities

Jeffrey Burum, the developer who was arrested Tuesday on felony counts related to an alleged bribery conspiracy, is known nationally as an affordable housing advocate and locally as a philanthropist.

Burum, a principal of Diversified Pacific Development Group LLC in Rancho Cucamonga, was a founder and chairman of National Community Renaissance, or National CORE, a nonprofit affordable housing organization headquartered in the same city. National CORE builds and manages affordable housing communities in California and five other states.

He also founded an associated charity, Hope Through Housing Foundation, which provides services for senior and youth programs.

Burum served two years on a blue-ribbon committee appointed by Congress to look for solutions to national housing problems.

Colonies Partners LP, of which Burum is a co-managing partner, was a major donor for the establishment of the Victoria Gardens Cultural Center in Rancho Cucamonga. His Diversified Pacific company sponsors the Victoria Gardens Story Theatre for children there.

Last year Colonies donated $25,000 to Upland High School to help prevent academic and athletic program cuts that were being considered.

Burum has been a significant supporter of Children's Fund, the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center and other nonprofit organizations in the area.

National CORE became embroiled in San Bernardino County corruption allegations during the trial of Rex Gutierrez, the former Rancho Cucamonga councilman who was convicted in October of grand theft, fraud and conspiracy. Prosecutors alleged that former county Assessor Bill Postmus had hired Gutierrez as a political favor to Burum in return for Gutierrez's support of a National CORE project in Rancho Cucamonga.

Burum voluntarily resigned from the National CORE board "to protect its 300 employees and more than 27,000 resident families from being subjected to the same mean-spirited politics of personal destruction that he has been forced to endure," Burum spokesman Ric Grenell said last year.